Against the Times: Is Moving Just the Thing You Need?

“Is Moving Just the Thing You Need?”

by Ken Torrino, Web Relations for Douglas Elliman, brokers for New York City real estate. Edited by Andrew Blitman, “The Written Blit”

It is not easy to say goodbye to family and friends, but for some, a big move is just what they need to move on with their life. It’s often required for employment. Positive milestones such as college graduations, marriages, and childbirth can lead to major physical relocations. Negative ones, too, can change perceptions of home. There might come a time in your life when you choose to chart new territory, to start fresh, to clean your slate.

If you want to move somewhere new, you need to prepare yourself financially and mentally. Just as Rome was not built in a day, your big move will require careful planning. You might even need someone to guide you through the details. However, once you are ready and equipped to move, nothing will stand in your way. The world is yours to experience and shape.

You might want to explore the countryside. You might be looking for metropolis. New York might be your dream destination. Before you change your life in such a way, be honest with yourself. Make sure (absolutely sure) you are relocating for the right reasons. Impulsive actions, especially of this magnitude, often have unforeseen negative consequences.

If you decide moving is desirable or necessary, pay attention to your needs and your environment. If you are tired of your job, if you find your friends leaving, or if you constantly think about a change of scenery, then you should take a chance and relocate. Many people have moved in the past few years because of the economy. Areas with low unemployment rates such as North Dakota swelled with new residents. Big cities, urban jungles of opportunity, have always attracted those with grand plans for their lives. New York real estate is just one way for people to find their destinies and improve their lives, particularly after graduating college. For that kind of relocation, you should always plan ahead. I cannot stress the importance of research. You need to stay informed. You also need to establish where you are going to live and how you are going to find work before you move.

Relocation After Graduation

Once you graduate, you may not move right away. Some graduates realize that they planned their “big move” after their first summer internships. Others need to experience the world before they settle down. Remember that seeing is believing. Before you believe a place is right for you, travel there. Experience it. Live it. Savor it. Research the positive and negative aspects of your dream destination.

For graduates of all ages, this cannot be more true. I have heard countless stories about impulsive relocations. I have heard about college students, parents, and retirees who buy real estate without planning ahead. They sign leases or purchase the property of their dreams before they establish their source(s) of income. Ultimately, they find themselves stranded in a nightmare, submerged in a debt too enormous to repay.

I have also heard stories about people who relocate blindly. Because they did not do their research beforehand, they discover—all too late, I might add—that they are incompatible with their new job, with their new property, and with their new city. They are also found themselves trapped in a real estate nightmare of hefty, unwanted, and unnecessary expenses.

It is stories like these that inspire me to do real estate. They drive me to do the right thing, to inform potential homeowners about the gravity of relocation. They are timeless examples of foresight that stress the importance of advanced planning. They show us—especially college students—why we should always visit the place of our dreams before we move there. Without the proper research, major relocations can become unnecessarily devastating mistakes.

Is Relocating Worth It?

While I believe that a change in scenery is not always the answer, I have heard numerous success stories. Relocation therapy has worked for many people who needed to escape their surroundings. Sometimes, homes do become prisons of memory. They can give individuals grief, especially when a spouse dies. Divorces can also bring about new beginnings.

Sometimes, health and environmental factors (air quality, water quality, seasonal darkness, etc.) can inspire people to move. At other times, people move to the wilderness so that they can experience nature’s true beauty.

“Sunflower Fields” by Bruce Blitman

We live in an increasingly mobile age. Everybody relocates at some point in their lives. Sometimes there is a reason. Other times there are no reasons. Regardless, technology makes that process easier than ever.

Travelling—and ultimately, settling down—enables us to experience and to understand true independence. It forces us to abandon the things that make us comfortable so that we can grow compassionate towards diversity and strong in ourselves. Travelling allows us to achieve our destinies.

“My Take”

by Andrew Blitman, “The Written Blit”

When I first heard the term “relocation therapy”, I immediately associated it with escapism. I was wrong.

Sometimes, we fight against our environment. Our environments can oppress us, repress us, and suppress us, especially when we are trapped in unfavorable circumstances. In those situations, we feel burdened by our memories. We can also be angry at our inability to change them.

I firmly believe we can change our circumstances. We can change them psychologically (by changing our perceptions of or our reactions to them) or physically (by literally altering the environment).

At other times, those circumstances can change us. If we let them. Sometimes, it is easier to flee those circumstances than to change them.

However, I believe that travelling is a crucial part of the human experience. It is a way out of the comfort zone that fails to challenge us. It exposes us to new ideas, new people, and new environments. By changing our surroundings (even temporarily), we can separate ourselves from our usual habits. In doing so, we learn about who we truly are and what we truly need, whatever that may be. But only if we try to be aware of those things.

If you do choose to relocate, please thoroughly plan out where you are going to live and how you are going to find work beforehand. Also, weigh your options. You could find that the sacrifices of relocation outweigh the potential benefits of moving.

Finally, make sure you are moving for the right reasons. Escape can be nice for a while. At the end of the day, however, you will always be yourself.